


honey and lemon

by milominderbinder



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: M/M, Sick Connor, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2014-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-20 05:23:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2416436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milominderbinder/pseuds/milominderbinder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Connor's not sick, okay?</p><p>Just because he has a temperature and a blocked nose and a sore throat and everyone keeps <i>telling</i> him he's sick - that doesn't mean he <i>is</i>.</p><p>And he certainly doesn't need <i>looking after.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	honey and lemon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thefaceofno](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefaceofno/gifts).



Oliver opens the door to find Connor stood on the doorstep.  He’s wearing a soft henley instead of his usual button down, and his hair is rumpled in a less intentional-looking way than usual, and his cheeks and the tip of his nose are very adorably flushed red.  He looks incredibly angry.

“Hi,” says Oliver, ignoring all of this.  He’s not quite managing to keep in the surprised smile that always forces its way out whenever Connor comes to see him unannounced.

“I’m not sick,” says Connor in lieu of a greeting.  He pushes past Oliver into the apartment, and heads straight for the kitchen.

“Oh- _kayyyy_ ,” Oliver replies to the now-empty hallway.  Then he closes the door, and follows Connor inside.

\--

“I said I’m _fine_.”

Connor is curled up on the sofa pointedly messing around on Oliver’s laptop while he waits for Oliver to find something for them to eat for dinner.  His face is a picture of obstinance, and Oliver has to turn away just so he can roll his eyes without Connor seeing.

“I know you are,” he says placatingly, and makes Connor sit still to have his temperature taken anyway.  It’s high.  Not dangerously so, but high.

“See, perfectly normal,” Connor insists when they look at the thermometer together, and Oliver turns away to roll his eyes again.

\--

“I’m not _sick_ , okay?”

Except it sounds like _I’m noth hick ohay_ and Oliver stifles his small laugh behind his hands, passes it off as clearing his throat.

“I know that,” he says in the most sincere tone he can muster, and casually drops two aspirin down onto the table before wandering back into the kitchen to put yesterday’s leftover takeout in the microwave.  The aspirin are gone when he comes back, and Connor doesn’t look up from the laptop.

\--

“I don’t _get_ sick,” Connor says, leaning against the counter as Oliver washes up their plates from dinner.

“Everyone gets sick,” Oliver replies, not quite sure what’s supposed to be comforting here.  Apparently it’s not that; Connor shoots him a look like he’s the biggest moron on the planet.

“ _I_ don’t,” Connor snarks, but drinks the cup of honey and lemon Oliver has set down in front of him anyway.  

\--

“I don’t want to kiss you, I might get your germs,” Oliver says, but he thinks his serious tone is undercut slightly by the smile he can’t force off his face.  Connor hasn’t wanted any sort of illegal favours, tonight.  Just to hang out.  It’s been a couple of months since they've been doing this now so maybe he shouldn’t be that surprised, but they still haven’t remotely defined their relationship, and it never stops feeling bizarre - Oliver really struggles to grasp the fact that _Connor_ wants _him_.

“I’m not _sick_ ,” Connor hisses, but he does pause for just a second to assess how serious Oliver is.  Then he scoffs and crashes their lips together anyway.

Alright, so Oliver lets him.  He’s never been the best with self control.

\--

“I’m fine,” Connor says, but his voice is less sure than it has been, a little disjointed and confused.  “You don’t have to -”

He trails off, and Oliver rolls his eyes again, safe in the darkness that fills the apartment.  He pulls the duvet up over them and wraps his arms around Connor’s waist, pulls their bodies even closer together, lets out a small sigh.

“You have a cold,” Oliver tells him.  There’s an edge of amusement in his voice but mostly he just sounds sleepy.  “It’s not the end of the world.  You just need to rest and you’ll feel better in the morning.  So go to _sleep_ already.”

Head buried in Connor’s shoulder, he can smell the soft fresh scent of Connor’s washing powder, can feel Connor’s warm skin under his cheek, and Oliver knows he will sleep better than he has in years, like this.

Connor isn’t relaxed, of course, seems wholly uncomfortable with the idea of _cuddling_ and is lying stiff as a board under Oliver’s arms.  They’ve slept next to each other more than a few times by now, but they’ve never done this.  It’s uncharted territory, and Connor doesn’t do well with things he doesn’t fully understand.  Somehow, though, Oliver forces himself to take the step.  He’s not good at that, usually.  But with Connor, he seems to be getting better.  Learning from the best, he supposes, since Connor never seems to have a single problem with taking what he wants.

And Connor needs this, Oliver decides.  Unlike most guys so arrogant, Connor’s personality doesn’t actually seem to be a mask, he’s mostly exactly like he appears and happy with it.  But somewhere deep down Oliver knows there is some part of Connor that needs far more comfort than he lets on.  And for tonight at least, Oliver decides to be the one to give that to him.  So he presses a soft kiss against Connor’s shoulder, and doesn’t say anything else.

He’s never been good with words, anyway.  But he thinks his actions mostly speak loud enough.

\--

It’s not until Oliver has drifted off that Connor finally lets himself relax into the arms wrapped around him.  To say he’s not exactly the cuddling type would be the understatement of the decade; he’s never done anything remotely like this, before.  He doesn’t know _how_ , doesn’t understand the protocol, and something deep down inside him is screaming that he should be running in the opposite direction right now, getting as far away from here as he can and not looking back.  This is simply supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement in which he solicits illegal hacking to help with his job in exchange for sexual favours.  When did it stop being that simple?

They’re not boyfriends.  Connor doesn’t _do_ boyfriends.

But his head is pounding and his nose hurts and he can’t breathe properly, and Oliver’s warm body wrapped around him feels more comforting than any medicine he’s ever taken.  So for tonight he decides to give up, and figure the rest out later.

He winds their legs together, slings an arm around Oliver, and buries his face in Oliver’s hair.  It smells like the boring minty shampoo Oliver uses, and Connor wonders when the hell that smell became comforting to him.

There’s not much time to ruminate on it, though.  He’s asleep within minutes, rocked off by the steady rise and fall of Oliver’s chest.

\--

“I’m not sick,” Connor says happily the next morning, pointedly breathing through his nose as he sips at his coffee.  Oliver groans and rests his pounding head against the cold counter top.

“I _told_ you I was gonna get your germs,” he says miserably.

For a second, a warm hand rubs comfortingly across his back.  It’s gone again after that, and Connor’s insisting he never had any germs in the first place, was never sick at all, Oliver’s making it all up and if he mentions it to anyone Connor will sue him for slander.

Oliver smiles to himself anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> so [Jay](http://bahoreal.tumblr.com) was feeling kinda ill and wanted to read about poorly cuddles and i tried to write per a drabble and it all just devolved from there. sorry sugarlump, i doubt this is what you had in mind, i hope you kinda enjoyed it anyway? ;) sorry for any mistakes, i wrote this in half an hour at one AM!
> 
> first crack at these characters, what did you guys think?
> 
> and if you wanna see me freaking out about this show more, here's [my tumblr](http://milominderbindered.tumblr.com).


End file.
